To dominate the Pelicans, Nikola Jokic did not force his talent: he simply retained his exceptional level of play in January. The pivot still showed another face in the second half, after a very shy first, with 22 points scored, including 16 in the third quarter thanks to three award-winning baskets.
In the Nuggets’ victory, he finished with 29 points (11/19 in shooting, 3/6 at 3-pts), 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Another triple-double for him this month, his 6th, and the 69th of his career. He is thus quickly approaching Wilt Chamberlain, with his 78 triple-double.
“He’s an MVP who does MVP stuff”
“He can take control of a game whenever he wants. That’s exactly what he did.”notes his new teammate Bryn Forbes for ESPN. “When he puts in at 3-pts, he’s almost unstoppable”says Aaron Gordon. “He’s an MVP doing MVP stuff. “
This fifth triple-double in less than two weeks confirms the form of the 2021 MVP. Almost every day, the All-Star fights a distance battle with Joel Embiid for the title of best pivot in the league.
In the last seven games (five wins for Denver), he has 31 points, 13.3 rebounds and 10.1 assists.
“I love playing with him”assures Aaron Gordon. “His vision of the game, his passes, his passion for the game are enormous. He just plays, does the right things. He thinks of others. I try to make it easy for him, to reciprocate. It’s so nice to play with someone like that. It’s more fun. ”
| Nikola Jokic | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | DEN | 80 | 22 | 51.2 | 33.3 | 81.1 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 10.0 |
| 2016-17 | DEN | 73 | 28 | 57.8 | 32.4 | 82.5 | 2.9 | 6.9 | 9.8 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 16.7 |
| 2017-18 | DEN | 75 | 33 | 49.9 | 39.6 | 85.0 | 2.6 | 8.1 | 10.7 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 18.5 |
| 2018-19 | DEN | 80 | 31 | 51.1 | 30.7 | 82.1 | 2.9 | 8.0 | 10.8 | 7.3 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 20.1 |
| 2019-20 | DEN | 73 | 32 | 52.8 | 31.4 | 81.7 | 2.3 | 7.5 | 9.7 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2020-21 ★ | DEN | 72 | 35 | 56.6 | 38.8 | 86.8 | 2.9 | 8.0 | 10.8 | 8.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 26.4 |
| 2021-22 | DEN | 42 | 33 | 57.1 | 37.1 | 80.6 | 2.8 | 11.1 | 13.8 | 7.6 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 26.2 |
| Total | 495 | 30 | 53.7 | 35.0 | 83.2 | 2.6 | 7.5 | 10.1 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 19.1 | |
